Representing the Mixed Plate: Involving Descendant Communities and Kānaka Maoli in Hawai’i Plantation Museums

<p>This thesis explores the ways that the involvement of diverse stakeholders at Hawai’i plantation museums affects representations of Hawai’i’s plantation history. Plantations in Hawai’i had a direct colonizing effect on <em>Kānaka Maoli</em> (Native Hawaiians), displacing them from their lands, replacing them with immigrant laborers, and putting into motion the chain of events that led to Hawai’i’s annexation in 1898. The current-day population in Hawai’i continues to reflect these significant changes in the society and culture of the islands. Hawai’i’s plantation museums traverse topics of labor, immigration, indentured servitude, and colonization. Simultaneously, these museums advance stories of perseverance, celebration, and multiculturalism. Through a museum ethnography of four Hawai’i plantation museums, I explore how locals and descendants of plantation laborers manage, curate, and recontextualize this history. I also explore how <em>Kānaka Maoli</em> displacement continues to be underrepresented in these museums, despite the roles that plantations had in the colonization of the islands.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Year

2023

Author dc:creator

• Lane, Amanda Ku’ualohalanileimakamae

Contributors dc:contributor

• Christina Kreps
• Kelly Fayard
• Lisa Martinez

• Diversity
• Hawai'i
• Plantation museums
• Representation
• Tourism sites
• Arts and Humanities
• Ethnic Studies
• History
• History of the Pacific Islands
• Indigenous Studies
• Museum Studies
• Other History
• Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies

Statement dc:rights

• <p>Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>

Language dc:language

English (eng)

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2353

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:etd-3342